Brewing a miracle.

[Drich]

As a Free Thinker my beliefs are backed up by reason. The only way that I can learn is through expressing my reasoning, therefore exposing my belief which can then be corrected as necessary, provided the improvement is logical. So I can't simply ask questions without actually engaging in discussion.

If you want to throw out ideas for me to shoot down then know I will most happily obliged you, but at the same time do not complain about all the corrections provided.

Ok, theologically I think this is sound. Now, applying this to reality, can you see how there's a flipside to it? Jesus says (as you have illustrated) 'potentially all believers can do these things'. Right, no worries there. What have I personally observed? No believer in my community has been able to heal anyone. The answer to this? Paul's observation that people don't posses all the gifts. To me this is an easy way out of being able to explain the lack of e.g. healing in this case.

Then perhaps you should look to your understanding of the word "Heal."

The original word is: therapeuō
It's primary meaning is:

1) to serve, do service

2) to heal, cure, restore to health
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexi...2323&t=KJV

With these definitions any care giver who brings a person back to health is a healer. One does not need the flash and magic you are looking for to have and use this gift.

This is my problem with the Bible. There's two parallel worlds, one being the Bible and the other reality, which never intersect.

This is true, but not for the reasons you think this is true. You have let Hollywood and pop culture dictate to you what the "biblical world" looked like, rather than seeking it out for yourself. You seem all to complacent in using the popular understanding of biblical precepts and principles to set the standard in which you judge God. Rather than earnestly seeking Him out for yourself. In other words you blindly accept the second world that was designed to cast doubt and disprove God as the real one. rather than seek God out for yourself.

'Yes, you can potentially heal, but actually no it turns out in reality you don't have the gift'. This is true of everyone I know.

Again because you have accepted the popular understanding of the word Heal. You look to this word and demand a flash of magic when in reality healings take place right under your nose, and you will not open your eyes to it.

So how can you understand that which is infallible through fallible means?

Only God is infallible. We being finite creatures can not ever hope to completely understand an infinate God. All that we are responsible for is what He has left us in the bible. Whether that message be 100% complete, or flawed in some way is His responsibility to either maintain, Change or forgive us for following the only Book He has left us.

An example of this is what Jesus tells us to do in Mark, which happens to be in the part of the manuscript that was added on. You still haven't addressed this.

I have in the message above which has been posted 3 times in this thread.

So let me rephrase: So what.

So what if it was added on, and so what if Jesus did or did not say these things. It changes nothing for the one who asks, seeks and knocks to worship the God of the Bible. For the God of the Bible is responsible for Maintaining, Changing or forgiving us for following the Only Book He has left for us. Our only charge is to be faithful to what has been given to us. We have been given the Bible and can trace it back to the Greek Texts. So in turn we are responsible for what was given. Nothing more.